← the board · drewhoover.com · 2024–2026
Hawaii's best defenders since 2024
Kilinahe Mendiola-Jensen leads with 80 tackles in 24 games at Hawaii; Lesterlaisene Lagafuaina had 61.
Every defender with 5 or more games at Hawaii since 2024, ranked by tackles; the lines are each player's tackles game by game, the top 8 drawn. A link opens the player's page, where he has one, or his row on the board.
73 defenders with 5+ games at Hawaiitackles
| # | player | seasons | games | tackles | sacks | tackles for loss | interceptions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kilinahe Mendiola-Jensen | 2024–2025 | 24 | 80 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | Lesterlaisene Lagafuaina | 2024–2026 | 25 | 61 | 5.5 | 15 | 0 |
| 3 | Kona Moore | 2024–2026 | 13 | 57 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 4 | Jackie Johnson III | 2024–2025 | 23 | 49 | 12.5 | 15 | 0 |
| 5 | Jaheim Wilson-Jones | 2024–2025 | 18 | 49 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 6 | Giovanni Iovino | 2025 | 12 | 36 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 7 | De'Jon Benton | 2025 | 12 | 32 | 5.5 | 11 | 0 |
| 8 | Jamar Sekona | 2024–2025 | 14 | 30 | 2.5 | 6 | 0 |
| 9 | Qwyn Williams | 2025 | 11 | 29 | 2.5 | 6 | 0 |
| 10 | Luther McCoy | 2025–2026 | 14 | 26 | 1.5 | 3 | 0 |
| 11 | Elijah Gipson | 2025–2026 | 10 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Geoffrey Speight Jr. | 2026 | 7 | 20 | 0.5 | 2 | 0 |
| 13 | Dion Washington | 2024 | 8 | 18 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| 14 | Deliyon Freeman | 2024–2025 | 9 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Ozzy Pollard | 2026 | 7 | 17 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 16 | Jeremiah Hughes | 2026 | 6 | 17 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 17 | Josh Sagapolutele | 2024–2026 | 9 | 16 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 18 | Jaylon Edmond | 2026 | 6 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 19 | Matteus Ioane | 2025–2026 | 7 | 14 | 0.5 | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | Carsen Stocklinski | 2025 | 10 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 21 | Ka'eo Akana | 2025–2026 | 10 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 22 | Alika Cavaco-Amoy | 2025–2026 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Nazaiah Caravallo | 2025–2026 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 24 | Aiden McComber | 2024–2025 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 25 | Ha'aheo Dela Cruz | 2025–2026 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | Devin Alves | 2026 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | Elijah Palmer | 2023–2026 | 36 | — | — | — | 5 |
| 28 | Jamih Otis | 2023–2026 | 34 | — | — | — | 2 |
| 29 | Jalen Smith | 2023–2025 | 32 | — | — | — | 1 |
| 30 | Peter Manuma | 2022–2025 | 32 | — | — | — | 5 |
| 31 | Wynden Ho'ohuli | 2023–2026 | 26 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 32 | Tariq Jones | 2023–2025 | 24 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 33 | Cam Stone | 2023–2024 | 23 | — | — | — | 3 |
| 34 | Justin Sinclair | 2023–2025 | 23 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 35 | Matagi Thompson | 2023–2026 | 23 | — | — | — | 1 |
| 36 | Ben Scruton | 2016–2019 | 20 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 37 | Devyn King | 2023–2025 | 20 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 38 | Virdel Edwards II | 2022–2025 | 20 | — | — | — | 3 |
| 39 | Caleb Phillips | 2021–2022 | 18 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 40 | Dayton Furuta | 2018–2019 | 18 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 41 | Elijah Robinson | 2023–2024 | 17 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 42 | Justice Augafa | 2018–2019 | 15 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 43 | Caleb Brown | 2023–2024 | 14 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 44 | Daniel Williams | 2023–2024 | 14 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 45 | Makana Meyer | 2023–2026 | 14 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 46 | Noah Kema | 2023–2024 | 14 | — | — | — | 1 |
| 47 | Logan Taylor | 2022–2024 | 13 | — | — | — | 2 |
| 48 | Meki Pei | 2023–2024 | 13 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 49 | Nalu Emerson | 2023–2024 | 13 | — | — | — | 1 |
| 50 | Ezra Evaimalo | 2023–2024 | 12 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 51 | Isaiah Tufaga | 2020–2023 | 12 | — | — | — | 1 |
| 52 | Malachi Finau | 2023–2024 | 11 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 53 | Jalen Perdue | 2021–2022 | 10 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 54 | Khoury Bethley | 2018–2021 | 9 | — | — | — | 7 |
| 55 | Kuao Peihopa | 2023–2024 | 9 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 56 | Nick Nelson | 2015 | 9 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 57 | Trayvon Henderson | 2013–2017 | 9 | — | — | — | 9 |
| 58 | Andrew Choi | 2019–2023 | 7 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 59 | Dejaun Butler | 2015–2016 | 7 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 60 | Jalen Rogers | 2014–2016 | 7 | — | — | — | 6 |
| 61 | Solomon Matautia | 2016–2019 | 7 | — | — | — | 5 |
| 62 | Eugene Ford | 2017–2021 | 6 | — | — | — | 4 |
| 63 | John Tuitupou | 2023 | 6 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 64 | Jonah Kahahawai-Welch | 2023 | 6 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 65 | Ne'Quan Phillips | 2012–2014 | 6 | — | — | — | 5 |
| 66 | Penei Pavihi | 2018–2022 | 6 | — | — | — | 2 |
| 67 | Anthony Sagapolutele | 2023–2024 | 5 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 68 | Damien Packer | 2013–2016 | 5 | — | — | — | 1 |
| 69 | Darius Muasau | 2019–2021 | 5 | — | — | — | 2 |
| 70 | Hugh Nelson II | 2021–2022 | 5 | — | — | — | 2 |
| 71 | Jahlani Tavai | 2015–2017 | 5 | — | — | — | 2 |
| 72 | Kai Kaneshiro | 2019–2021 | 5 | — | — | — | 4 |
| 73 | Quentin Frazier | 2020–2021 | 5 | — | — | — | 2 |
Also at Hawaii: quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, kickers, punters. Every school and conference: schools, conferences. The games are ESPN's box scores since 2004 (the Method says where they fall short); a position is the roster's, else read off the box score, so a tight end from before 2014 may be listed with the wide receivers.